Citizen Soldier
by Samantha Jane West-Croft
Summary: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue their old teammates.
1. Citizen Soldier

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down.

Side Notes: This is a redo of my old series'. There are going to be changes that will be noticed. The character's personalities should remain the same (mostly) but a few little details will be reworked. (I.E: How Flint and Jane first met, the relationship between Sarah and Snake Eyes and how it fell apart, and so on and so forth). I have renamed one of the characters, Roy Stevenson. I did not realize this at the time but his name was really close to Steve Rodgers from Captain America. Don't ask how I did not notice this before. I would also like to point out that the band in my last story did not have a name…I think. So I gave it one. It's based off a short poem in "Doctor Who" called _Demons Run_. Quite a fitting name for their band if you know the poem that River song recites.

I am also writing this a little differently. There will be only one story posted, not four or five like last time. Instead of the multiple stories posted there will be transitions between characters. For a while it will be chapter by chapter; starting with Jane as the primary and moving to Sarah, then the others. As you will probably notice throughout the story the chapters will be titled. They will either contain the lyrics of a song or be the title of the song. Much like the title of the story is Citizen Soldier. That's the first song in this playlist. The story will act much like a play list. Whether you listen to the songs or not is up to you. I often find music helps me write and read. I associate what I hear when I read and write with what I am listening to at the time. I will write the song title and the band that it is by (or movie if it's from a movie) in the disclaimer or the side notes. I will not always have the lyrics in the song, only in a select few chapters (such as an outing to a restaurant where music is played and the characters decide to sing along).

I, as far as I know, will not be writing this redo with Namiko Ai. We have not spoken since the start of winter vacation. Now without further ado, I present to you Citizen Soldier.

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Chapter One  
_Citizen Soldier_

Captain Jane Abernathy carefully picked at her award ribbons and medals. Her eyes scanned the empty debriefing room. She was waiting for the General and his new team to show. She had used her old famous identity of Emily Rose, of the Demons Run band, to obtain information on Cobra Industries. It just happened to be perfect timing on her part when she heard about Lt. Shana O'Hara's intelligence mission being successful as well. It was rather humorous to Jane that her and her old teammate had been gathering information on Cobra Industries around the same time but in different ways. Jane had been proclaimed dead to the world but used the façade of Emily Rose to get her information. Shana had become a fugitive to get the information.

_Oh, the irony_. She thought as she felt the course material of her award ribbons Jane could remember running the last time, nearly one month prior. Suddenly she remembered the sound of metal on metal as her teammate, and subordinate, Specialist Jana Ling fought the strange ninja who had caught them.

Shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the horrific memories, she slouched further into the chair. They were late, the general and his new team. She could conclude this when her eyes wandered towards the loudly ticking clock on the wall. In truth, the ticking probably wasn't all that loud, but with her extra sensitive senses it was almost on par with _someone_ sitting next to her blaring their music in their headphones. Finally she heard the door open behind her and she stood up at attention.

"At ease Captain Abernathy." The general said. She forced herself not to smile. Being the only military member in her family earned her some respect from her uncle General Abernathy; however it still did not earn her the full love she had wanted when she and her sister were growing up.

Jane sat down and folded her hands into her lap. Her eyes wandered over the faces of the people as they walked in and took their seats. Three of them she recognized from being friends and a student. Scarlett was one of the close friends she had known while being a student under Snake Eyes. Flint had become her friend after he had been on the rescue team that saved her a year before. The others she only recognized through their public humiliation. However she was thrown off her focus when an offensive odor cut through causing her to almost vomit.

She glanced around to see that Flint was looking at her nervously. She waved her right hand, trying to dismiss the situation. Finally clearing her throat, Jane forced herself to breathe through her mouth, as subtly as possible. She didn't want to offend the person who carried with them the odor of doom.

It took her a few more minutes before she regained her complete composure. She looked once more at Flint and smiled. Unconsciously she started feeling the stub that remained of her left pinky. The year before she had been captured and tortured by some unknown and faceless organization. Or at least they were faceless at the time. Now they knew who it was. All they needed to know were the goals and intentions of Cobra.

"Captain Abernathy, you're one of the few people outside this room who has had more contact with Cobra Industries and you're the only person who can tell us what the intelligence is that you found during your last reconnaissance mission. So please start." General Abernathy stated before motioning for Jane to stand up.

Sighing softly Jane stood up and plugged her thumb drive into a nearby computer. She then clicked the power button for the overhead projector. She could feel everyone's attention drawn to her. She could feel her heart pounding loudly in her chest. It was so loud and so hard that she thought her heart was going to burst forth and start tap dancing on the Briefing Room table. Mentally shivering at the idea Jane tried to focus on the briefing. Turning around once more she locked eyes with Shana O'Hara, the former teammate was staring at her in continued disbelief. As were the rest of her team. Snake Eyes had probably figured that she wasn't dead; after all he was smart enough to see through a ruse. The only people in the room who knew for certain she hadn't been dead were Flint and her uncle.

"I know that most of you and the rest of the world were lead to believe that I was killed in action last year. In truth it was a ruse so I could go deep under cover. During my life as singing sensation Emily Rose of the Demons Run, I donated money to Cobra Industries Research and Development program. Because of my generous donations, I was awarded privileged tours of their facilities." Jane opened the files on her thumb drive. As they played across the screen, Jane tried to keep from cringing. "I had my so called assistant, otherwise known as Specialist Jana Ling, with me. Each time we were on a tour of their facilities she would sneak one of our ghost drives into their computer mainframe."

"You managed to steal data from the most secretive organization while pretending to be a pop star?" Duke interjected.

Jane tilted her head in thought. "I wasn't pretending. I am Emily Rose of Demons Run. However, this façade was quite effective in attaining the information that I wanted. At least it was until a not so friendly white clad ninja figured out I was wearing a prosthetic face. Apparently I underestimated Cobra's desperation after you and your rag-tag team broke into their facility."

Jane saw the offence that her words had caused and she gave a half-hearted shrug. "Personally I don't care, rag-tag teams seem to get more things done than the well thought out ones people seem to think are necessary."

Jane could almost hear her uncle grinding his teeth together. She knew he wasn't facing her, he had already seen the data. Finally she clicked the mouse, causing the fast streaming data to stop suddenly.

"What about Specialist Ling, where is she right now?" Shana asked.

Jane stiffened. As she turned her head to look at everyone they noticed that her eyes were suddenly devoid of all emotion. It took Flint aback when he saw that look, the last time he had seen that look was nearly a month before when they were in a bar. People barely made it out unharmed.

"They…they took her during the last mission."

Shana's eyes flashed with anger. "How did that happen? You were her commanding officer and closest friend."

Jane hesitated, her eyes finally migrating towards the ground. She needed to get her anger under control. There was no way she was going to let her anger control her here or anywhere anymore. Forcing herself to look up she locked onto the black clad ninja in the back. He was holding his hand out, palm upright. It was a motion for her to continue. "When we were discovered, Specialist Ling figured out our attacker was a member of the Arashikage. She knew I was far from a match for him so she sent me away and acted as a diversion so I could escape. I am the last member of Demons Run unit." Clenching her fist, Jane tried to refocus her mind on the debriefing. "My sister and I have been working on decoding the data, and on this drive is what little we've gotten done in these past five months. There is still quite a lot left to be decoded, but Sarah is working on it right now."

"This is going to be a long briefing." She heard someone mutter.

…

Jane walked out of the briefing room with her mind set on her paperwork. She knew her uncle wanted her to be a part of his new Special Forces division, code named G. I. Joes, but she was done being a soldier in the military. The only reason she would stay in the military is if they told her the only way she could rescue Jana was to stay.

"Captain Abernathy!"

Jane turned around to see Shana walking towards her. At first she suspected that Shana was there to berate her then she noticed that her old friend was walking calmly towards her. "Yes?"

"Would you be willing to accept an assignment to your uncle's new division?"

"Where my underling can further humiliate me for leaving my friend behind? No thank you." Jane continued walking only to have Shana clap a hand on her shoulder. "A lot of people got hurt in a bar last month because of the same gesture Shana."

"Would you join us if I told you we might be able to rescue Jana and the rest of your team?"

"Maybe, I will need time to think it over.

Shana nodded her head, let go of the Captain's shoulder then watched as she walked away.

"She's already decided." Flint said from behind Shana.

"You certain?" Duke questioned while walking towards his teammate's side.

"You don't know her, and Scarlett, you haven't been around her for quite a while."

"What's that's supposed to mean?" Scarlett asked while whirling around.

"She now lives up to her code name," Was all Flint said before pushing off the wall and walking away.

Duke glanced at Scarlett looking for an answer.

"Demon…that's what her unit called her. It was a nickname in high school for Jane, and it followed her into adulthood."

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A/N: I'm back baby. Lol...This is a massive redo of my old stuff so please read and review.


	2. Name of the Game

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _Name of the Game_ by ABBA/from Mama Mia.

Side Notes: So...I know I said I would only update whenever possible for me, but right now my courses are going realitively easily. Though, wish me luck, my first tests are tomorrow for Reading and Math (both easy A courses but still, Math isn't one of my strong suits and my reading teacher color coordinates everything!). I forgot to thank _Bronwynn_ for being a sort of beta reader for me. I was actually unsure about publishing this story until now. Also would like to thank my editor _Donny Jaynes_, he helps make my writing make sense. Also thanks for the review _AA-MamaBirdCat_. Glad to see that you're interested.

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Chapter Two  
_Name of the Game_

The scent of her musty old apartment building filled her nose. The sounds of the occupants getting ready for dinner were echoing through her ears. Particles of dust clouded her vision. When she had been younger, all these things clouding her senses would have driven her insane. However, thanks to Snake Eyes, Jane had learned to control the overabundance of heightened senses. The only thing that would cause her to go nuts was if there was an overabundance of sound, smell, touch, sight, taste or all of them at once.

Today, Jane was just getting in from the eventful morning and afternoon. First she had the briefing with the G. I. Joe unit, followed by massive amounts of paperwork-oh how she loathed paperwork. The best part of her day had been when she went shopping for her four year old niece. It was going to be Sakura's fifth birthday soon. Going up to her apartment, Jane's unconscious mind cataloged the comings of goings of various neighbors' kids and pets. None of these things triggered her natural self-defense mechanism.

Making her way to her apartment door, she calmly pulled out her apartment keys. The bags in her hand were starting to get heavy, but she didn't really care. Her niece deserved the best presents in the world. She had also bought a new outfit. As she walked into the apartment she dropped her keys into the nearby bowl. Placing the bags near her bedroom door she went over to the kitten who sat patiently at the door. Picking up the white fluffy kitten she smiled.

"You hungry girl?" she asked in a teasing tone before walking into the kitchen. Putting the small kitten down, Jane grabbed the food bowl and went to fill it. As she put the bowl down in front of the kitten her phone began to ring.

Pulling out the annoying cellular device Jane looked at the number and smiled. "Captain Abernathy's residence, I am the robotic life form duplicate speaking for her."

"_Jane I was wondering if we were still on for tonight_?"

In the background Jane could hear the sounds of a car in motion. "Yeah, I'll swing by your place in an hour." She replied.

"_Actually I'm on my way over. I just got out of my last meeting, so I'll pick you up then make a quick stop at my place to change_."

Jane chuckled. "Don't be surprised, I just got in."

"_What on earth have you been doing since the briefing_?"

"Oh…" Jane glanced at the bags on the floor. "A little of this and little of that. Actually I was shopping for Sakura's upcoming birthday."

Jane could hear him chuckle over the line. He had met the feisty little four year old the year before. It was when Jane had been rescued and was in the hospital. He had cracked a joke and the then three year old kicked him in the shin. It took quite a while for Sakura and Jane's friend to get along with each other.

"_That little brat still has a mean kick doesn't she_?" He asked.

"Just wait until she gets to the right height to throw a left hook at your face." Jane joked. "I'll see you when I get done with my shower and stuff…you can let yourself in. My spare key is hidden just above the door. It's painted so you might night see it at first."

"_I'll see you then_."

Jane clicked her phone closed and grabbed her new outfit. A new set of make-up, a new neon blue wig and a pair of specially made elbow length gloves were inside the shopping bag with her new outfit. She walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. There was a slender but obvious scar running across the bridge of her nose. Another scar ran just above her left eyebrow and the last was along the right side of her jawbone. Her auburn eyes were a little more red than brown today. Sighing to herself she pulled out a pair of contact lenses. She didn't need them to correct an eyesight problem, no they were meant for correcting the unnatural and practically inhuman color of her eyes.

Placing her clothing out on the left hand side of the sink counter Jane bit her bottom lip. Seeing her unusual eyes she made her feel inadequate. In school she and her little sister had been picked on for their unnatural eye color. Sometimes they were called the spawn of Satan, other times they were physically hurt. Jane always took the brunt of the attacks until one day the bullies caught Sarah alone. Afterwards Jane fought back. She couldn't take any more of the school's inept ability to defend them.

Taking her clothing off she stepped into the shower and turned it to as hot as she could withstand. Hearing the door click open she smiled. Her friend had gotten there faster than she had thought. After getting out she quickly dried off then went about getting dressed and applying the make-up. Slowly she placed the tinted contact lenses in her eyes then slipped the neon blue wig over her short brown hair. Normally she wouldn't wear a wig in public. However the restaurant they were going to only let people in-without reservation- if the person was rich or famous. Thankfully she was both.

Walking out into her living room she smiled at her friend sitting on her couch. He was wearing his formal army uniform, which was slowly getting ruined by the white fuzzy kitten rubbing up on him.

"Hey stranger." Jane said softly before taking the kitten away from him, careful not to let the white fur ruin her brand new corset top.

"I almost didn't recognize you Jane." He said while standing up. He brushed his hands over the uniform in a lame attempt to rid himself of the white fury.

"I get that a lot." Jane answered with a smile. Placing the kitten back on the couch Jane turned to leave. "Hold the fort down baby girl."

"Jane wait up."

Jane stopped just outside her apartment door. "Yeah?"

"Why did you fill out the paperwork requesting a discharge?"

Jane felt her cheeks warm up under the layers of white make up. She was glad he couldn't see her real skin tone. He would probably laugh at her embarrassment. "I need a change, that's all. I've been living up to my code name for a little too long."

"I thought you were going to take a position with General Abernathy's new division." He closed the door behind them.

"Oh, I am. He's got me on as a civilian consultant and contractor."

"You do realize that just makes it easier for the men on base to try something, right?"

"Are you offering?"

Her friend spluttered. His reaction caused Jane to start giggling. After a while he smiled back then glanced at her left hand. He could remember when he had found her. She had been a bloody unconscious mess that had been physically and probably psychologically tortured by terrorists. Forcing himself not to think about that he looked ahead, "Where to?"

"Besides your place?" She flashed a pearly white smile. "There's a place I want to try just a few blocks from your apartment. I've been dying to go but I didn't want to go alone."

"That new place that's almost 12 city blocks from my place? I thought only the rich and famous—right."

Jane smiled as she twirled the strands of neon blue hair between her fingers. "Trust me Flint, we'll get in."

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A/N: Anyone see that one coming? Ok so my old readers might have...and I might have made it sorta obvious but oh well. Please review? Pretty please with a cherry on top.


	3. Speechless

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _Speechless _by Natasha Bedingfield

Side Note: This chapter focuses on Sarah Abernathy and her daughter Sakura.

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Chapter Three  
_Speechless_

Sarah sat at her computer table. It was late at night, probably midnight but she wasn't paying attention to the clock. Her focus was split between two monitors. On the first were security camera footage of the surrounding property and individual rooms of her home. At the center of the screen was the image of her daughter's bedroom. On the second monitor were the encrypted files she was trying to decode for her sister and the General. Breaking these types of codes was easy for her, they always had been. But there was so much data to decode it was going to take longer than her uncle and sister wanted. While glancing through the files she noticed something she had feared to see: her own name, along with her sister and her teammates' names. Pulling up the file she bit her lip and tried to ignore what she was seeing. There were medical reports and experiment files on each of them. Clicking out of the experiment reports Sarah did a mass search through the files for Sakura's name. "Sakura Lily Abernathy…nope, Sakura Lily Rose…nope, oh good." Letting out a sigh of relief Sarah leaned back in her chair. Her green eyes were wide with shock.

A whimper over the speaker caused Sarah to look at the video image of her daughter once more. The sweet little four-nearly five-year old girl was dreaming. In her arms was the light brown teddy bear she had gotten as her first stuffed animal. It was half her size and well-worn due to many travels to Mr. Washing Machine. However the little girl still carried Mr. Tedi everywhere she went, even school.

Sarah smiled softly until she noticed a strange movement in the room. Enlarging the image she saw a dark clad figure climbing through the window. Fear started her heart into a fast paced adrenaline fueled thudding against her chest. Grabbing her Taser, Sarah hurried through the quiet home as silently as possible. Someone was breaking into her home through her daughter's bedroom window. If the little girl woke up she would never sleep peacefully again-if the person didn't kill her first. Standing across from the open bedroom door Sarah stared at the black clad figure. He had his back to Sarah and was looking down at the sleeping little girl.

Finally pulling the trigger Sarah took in a sharp breath. She didn't like hurting people. That's probably why she loved computer work more than field work when it came to working with her sister. The man started to slump to the ground but used the bed post to keep himself up. Silently he turned to look at her. She closed her eyes and her fingers pulled the trigger again, sending more electrical pulses into the intruder's body. After she heard a thud on the ground she opened her eyes to see him collapsed. Slowly she moved towards her _miraculously _still sleeping daughter.

Gently lifting the girl, Sarah looked at the seemingly unconscious man then hurried to her own room. After placing the little one on the Queen sized bed; Sarah quickly locked the door behind her as she rushed out of the bedroom. Looking in the child's bedroom again she confirmed to herself that the man was unconscious. Rushing towards the kitchen she started to search the drawer for zip ties. "Come on, where are you buggers?" she hissed while slamming another drawer shut.

When she started to open another drawer she saw a hand holding out the bag of grey-black zip ties. "Thanks." She whispered while taking them. As she stood upright to leave her heart practically stopped. Standing in front of her was the same man who had broken in through her daughter's window. Getting ready to scream for her daughter to call the police Sarah felt him cup a hand against her mouth. Throwing a wild swing in the direction of the man's head, Sarah was further startled when he caught her fist with his free hand.

He seemed to be waiting for her to calm down. Sarah's eyes darted around the kitchen. There had to be something within her reach for her to hit him with. She started to back up, in the direction of the stove but he jerked her back to where she had been standing. Looking at the man's visor she felt like she knew him from somewhere. Her eyes finally darted down to the red symbol on his shoulder. Arashikage, so that probably meant he was… "Snake Eyes?" she said surprised. He gave one curt nod before letting her go. "Gods, it is you. What are you doing here? Why did you break in? Oh…crap…I tased you."

Snake Eyes shrugged, knowing that Sarah would non-stop fuss over him if he didn't' shrug off her weak assault. He couldn't blame her for reacting the way she did. Perhaps he should have taken the easier route of the front door. '_Your uncle sent me to offer you a job position at his new base_.' He signed while taking a step back. He knew he had to be cautious with Sarah. Even though she wasn't a fighter, she was still good at throwing projectiles without warning-especially when a person was too close to see Sarah telegraphing her moves.

"And you go in through the window when you could have used the front door…why?"

'_I figured it was the easiest way to talk to you without a door being slammed in my face_.'

Sarah chuckled nervously. "Why would I slam the door in your face?"

Snake Eyes paused for a moment. Had she really forgotten their last meeting already? It had only been five years but Sarah was well known for forgetting things. 'I thought that you would slam the door in my face because of five years ago.' He finally answered.

"Five years ago…right I uh…well—"

"Mommy?" a tinny voice asked from behind Snake Eyes.

Snake Eyes turned to see the little girl he had been looking at earlier standing directly behind him. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and was dragging a light brown teddy bear with the other. She wore a bright hot pink night gown that went past her feet and black ribbons in her blonde pig tails.

"Did we wake you up sweetie?" Sarah asked while going over and kneeling down in front of the little one. The girl nodded her head then looked pat Snake Eyes with wide curious blue eyes.

"Why does your friend wear a mask mommy?" the little girl asked.

Sarah blushed while lifting the girl into her arms. Glancing at Snake Eyes she gave him an apologetic smile then looked at the child in her arms. "To protect the people he cares about."

"Like Batman?"

"Yes like Batman—Jane's been letting you watch those cartoon again hasn't she?"

The little one smiled innocently before burying her face in her mom's chest with a giggle. Sarah walked into the little girl's bedroom and carefully laid her back on the bed. Pulling the sheets and blankets up to the girl's chin she kissed her daughter's forehead. "Go back to sleep ok?"

"Night mommy."

"Good night Sakura."

Sarah walked out of her daughter's room, closing the door behind her. "Living room, it's the best spot that can muffle sound…Sakura's not yet asleep."

Snake Eyes followed her. His eyes scanned the disorderly living room. Lying strewn across the coffee table, the couch, and even spots on the floor were papers and stuffed animals. Sarah hurriedly picked up the paperwork and stacked them unorganized onto the coffee table. As Snake Eyes started to help, Sarah started apologizing profusely for the mess. He said nothing, but he knew that she was only disorganized because of the job Jane had her doing.

She then started to go about picking up the stuffed animals. Snake Eyes looked down at the lone teddy bear on the couch. It was dressed in a sort of mock black ninja outfit. Stitched to the bears ears were hot pink bows. Snake Eyes gently lifted the toy and held it up to Sarah's face as she walked back over to him.

Sarah felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "Jinx got it for Sakura last year. I think Jinx wants to train her to be a ninja too."

'Why?'

"She snuck up on Jinx and jumped onto her back. I don't remember ever seeing either you or Jinx get startled before."

Snake Eyes arched an eyebrow under the mask. He had figured that Sarah's daughter was being silent on purpose. However, now he wondered if the girl was uncannily stealthy. Mentally shaking his head, Snake Eyes forced himself to remember why he was really here. '_The job your uncle sent me to talk to you about, Sarah_.'

"Right uh…what about it?"

'_It's on a secret base. He has offered to let you bring Sakura and homeschool her on your free time. However, you are to keep her with you or someone who is not busy at all times_.'

"Is there any paperwork that I have to look at?" Sarah sat down on the edge of the couch and stared up at him. It had been nearly 5 years since they had gone their separate ways. It was hard to believe that he was right there.

Snake Eyes pulled out the small thumb drive the General had given him and handed it to Sarah. '_It was nice seeing you again Sarah_.'

Sarah chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah same…I actually thought you were dead."

That didn't shock Snake Eyes. Sarah was always the pessimistic student of his. She even doubted her own fighting skills. He turned to walk out the front door.

"I'll uh…I'll put a paper cherry blossom on the front door if I accept the job and a paper rose if I decline."

Snake Eyes looked back then nodded his head once. '_I'll be waiting to see your response_.'

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A/N: Well It's been a few days so i guess you all deserve another chapter. Jk. Ok an explanation about the cherry blossom and the rose. Sakura means Cherry blossom in japanese. Sarah's mother's maiden name was Rose. Read and Review please.


	4. Reach Out to the Truth

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _Reach out to the Truth _from Persona 4.

Side Note: It's back to Jane and Flint now. Jane's explanation for the song is not the true explanation that is used in Persona 4. It is an explanation that I created merely for Jane since I felt the song fit her so well.

* * *

Chapter Four  
_Reach Out to the Truth_

Jane walked into the Wild Rose Club. She had been hanging onto Flint the entire time. It wasn't that she felt insecure. She just didn't want to lose him in the crowd. Everyone who had been waiting in line to get in recognized her instantly as Emily Rose from Demon Unit Band. She felt strange going out in public-outside of concerts-in this persona. It felt even stranger for her to be out with someone as Emily.

As they walked further into the club, Jane locked eyes with a young waitress. She was obviously an Emily Rose fan too because Jane saw one of the Demon Unit tour shirts from two years ago that could easily be seen through the waitresses' apron. Jane felt slightly honored and a little embarrassed that the waitress was a fan but at the same time she was slightly worried. If word got out that Emily Rose was here to the media then she and Flint would have to escape out the back. There was no way she was going to expose her close friend to the harshness of the media like that.

Finally giving the waitress a friendly smile, Jane noticed that they had been lead to a secluded area of the club. The music was softer than in the front, though still highly audible to Jane. The table they had been given was surrounded on three sides by shoji screens. Jane gave the waitress a bow of her head as she sat down on one side of the table.

Flint sat across from Jane and kindly took the menu from the waitress as she handed them over. Once the waitress was gone Flint leaned in slightly and smiled at Jane. "How do you handle being famous so well?"

Jane shrugged then started to pinch at her pant leg. "Helps when you wear a disguise to be famous."

Flint shrugged. "I suppose that is a benefit."

"The military also offered a sort of…stability that my normal home life didn't really have. If I hadn't been in the military I might have done something utterly stupid." Jane smiled as she took a sip of the water glass that was set on the table. _Also Sensei helped out a lot. _ She added silently.

Jane cast an unconscious glance around the area. It was habit, to observe her surroundings. Snake Eyes had drilled it into her and her friends for a long time. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was music. There were people dancing on the dance floor. Strobe lights were flickering. Waiters were busying themselves with taking customers. Slowly looking up, Jane made the nervous habit of making sure that the building was up to fire safety standards with crash bars at the exit doors and fire sprinklers in the ceilings.

"Counting the exits and fire sprinklers again?" Flint joked.

Jane chuckled nervously whilst still pinching her pant leg. "Yeah…can never be too sure."

In the background Jane could faintly hear a familiar tune playing. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink when she heard her own voice coming through the speakers. "_Now I face out, I hold out, I reach out for the truth of my life, seeking to seize the whole moment, yeah." _

Casting her eyes down to her lap, she started pinching both pant legs furiously. She wasn't expecting the club to start playing her music just because she was there.

"_Yeah, naked truth lies, only if you realize, appearing in nobody's eyes till they sterilize_. _Stop the guerrilla warfare to keep it fair. Bro, change your rage to a smarter greater cause_."

Slowly lifting her eyes she locked onto Flint's and felt her cheeks get even warmer. She was extremely glad that she was wearing white make up. Her normal olive tone would have turned practically black the more embarrassed she got.

Tilting her head up, she closed her eyes. That was her sister's lyric. It had been created to talk about not only their uncle but also Jane herself. Her anger was always getting in the way of them being a normal family.

"_You know the stake is high, stardom is near. Those who sympathized you die, killers pass you by. Do not waste your time in hating flirting guys. Use your might to do justice to them all._"

Letting out a sigh, Jane bit her bottom lip. As she let her head go back to a somewhat normal position she noticed that Flint was staring at her in curiosity. She waved a hand.

"What's this song about?" He asked.

"Just listen, then I'll explain…maybe." Jane whispered softly while tapping her foot to the beat. It was hard to resist the urge to dance to the song. It was humiliating that he was hearing the first song that she and the Demon's Run Band had ever played. Then again he had probably listened to all of the Demons Run albums since he found out that she was Emily Rose. Casting the embarrassment aside Jane started softly singing to her own song.

"_Now I face out, I hold out, I reach out to the truth of my life, seeking to seize on the whole moment to now break away_. _Oh God let me out, can you let me out? Can you set me free from this dark inner world? Save me now. Last beat in the soul_."

Hissing to herself, Jane could feel her whole body swaying to the music. Oh, how she hated when her body went against her better judgment.

Flint was amused. Watching Jane have inner conflict was amusing in of itself, but when it came to her famous persona it was even funnier. He tried to keep his face stoic, nervous that if she noticed he was having fun at her expense she might want to leave at that moment.

"_Oh God let me out, can you let me out? Can you set me free from this dark inner world? Save me now. Last beat in the soul_."

As the song finished, Jane grabbed the glass of water and downed it. After a few moments of just staring at each other, Flint looked away. "So, you said you might explain the song?" He inquired while trying to find something interesting on the shoji screen. There really wasn't anything, but he had to think of something just in case his amusement showed through.

"Yeah, give me a second to think." Jane whispered, feeling that her voice would have betrayed her. When she heard someone walking towards them she turned towards the opening of their seating area. The waitress was standing there with a sort of expectant look on her face.

"I'll take your orders if you are ready Miss Rose and friend." The waitress said with an ever friendly smile. But mixed in with the friendliness was a sort of knowing and understanding expression.

Despite the embarrassment she was feeling, Jane knew deep down she was having the most fun she had in a very long time. She wasn't embarrassed because of the singing. No she had critics hailing her as a great singer. She was embarrassed that the club was playing that particular song. It had been written in during a rough patch in her life.

After her rescue and recovery, Jane and Flint had started spending as much time together as possible. It had started with her wanting to take him out for drinks as a thank you and then they started getting together for morning coffee whenever they could. She had been sent on tour but every so often their paths would cross. They only knew their paths had crossed because they had stayed in moderate contact. This contact was at first because Flint knew she had been friends with one of the people he was tasked in hunting down. But it slowly morphed into a good friendship.

Jane cleared her throat as she cast her eyes towards the Chinese section of the menu. "I'll take the Orange Chicken and General Tso combination with Pork Fried Rice and a side order of fried wantons."

After the waitress had written down the order, Flint ordered a cheese burger with fries from the American section of the menu. The waitress left with their orders.

Jane sighed. "The song is about the struggles I went through to find out the truth; the truth about me, my sister, my uncle, my mom, and my dad. It also talks about how I was going through some rough times. If it hadn't been for my friends, my sister and Snake Eyes I might have done more harm than good." Jane sniffled. She wasn't crying, instead she could smell someone walking towards them. she knew who it was and forced a smile. "When the song says 'Oh god let me out. Can you let me out? Can you set me free from this dark inner world?' I was crying out for help. I didn't want to live with my uncle anymore and I was trying everything to get out of his house—aside from running away."

That shocked Flint. From everything he had seen of General Abernathy he couldn't believe that Jane didn't want to live with him. Heck she even joined the military. "What was so bad about the General?"

"He isn't so good kids, let alone troubled teens who had witnessed their parents die in a laboratory fire." Jane answered while picking up the glass of water and staring at it.

That was the first Flint had heard about her parent's deaths. He knew they had died, but he never knew that Jane had witnessed it herself. She had to have been at most 10 when it happened. When Flint saw the image of a figure in black from the corner of his eye he turned his head to look. At first he was startled to see the black clad ninja that had worked with Duke and Scarlett, but slowly he just accepted that the man was there.

Jane knew Snake Eyes had been standing there for quite some time. It didn't take much to realize he was there, at least for Jane. His footsteps were light and practically undetectable for normal humans—not her though. His heartbeat was almost always calm. But what got her the most was his ever familiar scent. She could never place what it was but no one else had it. "What brings you here Sensei?"

* * *

A/N: I'm pretty sick right now so this will be my only post for this week. I was planning on posting Chapters 4-6, but I can barely focus on staying awake right now. R and R please, pretty please with a cherry on top.


	5. What I've Done

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _What I've Done _from Linkin Park

Side Note: I'm still getting over the cold, but I just couldn't stand not putting at least chapter Five up for y'all this weekend. There for a while I was actually a little worried that it was going to turn into a respiratory infection like it usually does. This chapter is being posted to celebrate the fact that I passed my midterms without a hitch this week. I was actually surprised...usually I suck at school when I'm sick as a dog. A special thanks to _AA MamaBird_, _Bronwynn,_ and _Donny._ Reading your reviews (and edits on Donny's part) made me feel better as I worked tirelessly to get better...lots of sleep, orange juice, General Tso chicken, and soup...that's my remedy for a cold. Now without further ado, Chapter Five.

* * *

Chapter Five  
_What I've Done_

Snake Eyes approached the table. He could tell that Jane knew he was there. The subtle tilt of her head and short intake of breath signaled to him that she had sniffed the air and identified who was beside her as a friend without her having to look in his direction. Ever since he first met her he knew no one could sneak up on her-and if they did they would regret it. As he stood in front of his former student he took careful notice that she had started to pinch her pant leg. A terrible nervous tick of hers it was. He could remember the rants that her sister made whenever Jane brought the ruined pairs of jeans for a quick stitch up. He slowly signed, knowing that Jane was probably out of practice when using sign language. '_Your sister is the reason why I am here_.'

"Oh, what about Sarah? Did she punch you in the face or kick you in the—

'_She has a child_.' He interrupted. He really didn't like it when anyone teased him. Snake Eyes only let her get away with it because he knew that was her personality and nothing would change that. '_Who is the child's father_?'

Jane closed her eyes. She had half hoped that Snake Eyes wouldn't see the little blonde girl. As she took a deep breath she could hear the ninja's fist clench and unclench behind his back. It was one of those rare times he actually showed any emotion. Right now it was annoyance, frustration, and slight irritation towards Jane. "Don't really know, did you ask Sarah?" Jane said. It was a lie. She knew full well who Sakura's father was even if Sarah had never actually told her.

Snake Eyes heard her heart skip slightly. A clear sign of her lying, that or Flint was rubbing his foot against her leg—but that was completely unlikely. '_Things got awkward when small one walked up behind and I didn't notice her_.' Jane was the only one he trusted enough to admit that a child could sneak up on him. He knew Jane would realize that this admission to her would let her know he was serious and hoped that it would get her to tell him the truth.

"That's understandable. Sakura has this air about her. I know it's her innocence and curiosity mostly but it's still unnerving for someone like me to be around. Probably worse for you sensei." Jane internally winced. She hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "But still, it's awkward being around Sakura. You really should ask my sister…"

Snake Eyes felt slight annoyance. Jane had managed to either not take the bait or she saw right through his attempt to get an answer. He hated to admit it but Jane was almost as smart as her sister—almost. What Jane lacked in intelligence she made up for in fighting and rage. Rage wasn't always a good thing though. It often made Jane unaware of the people she might hurt when she lost control.

Flint sat perfectly still and silent. He was only sure about half the things being said—Jane's half of the conversation. But he gathered that it had to do with Sakura and who her father might be. Flint had asked the same question, because the little girl looked nothing like her aunt or her mother. When he noticed Jane looking at him he tried to smile.

"My sister's kid, you met her, well Snake Eyes is wondering who her father is." Jane clarified while picking up her half full glass of water and swirling the contents gently.

Flint nodded his head and turned to look at Snake Eyes again only to see that he was gone. "How does he do that?"

"Magic?" Jane offered with a subtle sarcastic tone. They looked at each other then started laughing. Picking up her fork, Jane started to twirl it between her fingers, across her palm, across the back of her hand and then her fingers again. "Thanks for coming with me again."

"That's what friends are for Jane."

Yet again glad she was wearing her stage make up; Jane could feel her cheeks turning red. "I guess so."

"Still upset about what Lieutenant O'Hara said during the meeting?"

Jane nodded her head. She knew that Jana had sacrificed herself to get the information out but she still felt like she should have done something instead of leaving her friend to contend with the Ling Family's sworn enemy alone. Thinking about it made Jane sick to her stomach. What could that white clad Arashikage ninja have done to Jana? Did he kill her after Jane escaped? Did he drag her away to torture her? Or was he simply bidding time so that he could steal the secrets that Jana held then kill her? Shivering in her seat Jane closed her eyes. She couldn't think like that. In her heart of hearts she knew that Jana was still alive somewhere and that she was going to fight to get back.

…

After dinner—which Jane paid for since the bill was a little larger than Flint expected—Flint drove Jane back to her apartment. The ride there was quiet and tense. As he stopped in front of the building, Flint noticed that Jane was taking the wig off and ruffling the short brown hair of hers. "Thank you Jane."

Jane looked up at him in shock. She should have been thanking him. If it weren't for him she would have stayed in her apartment alone and probably drank herself to sleep. "What for?"

"Paying" Flint admitted sheepishly. "That was the most expensive hamburger I've ever had."

Jane chuckled. "I guess that's what rich and famous friends are fore." She joked while cramming her wig into her purse. "You want to come up for a cup of coffee?"

Pausing in his thought process, Flint felt shocked that she had offered to let him up to her apartment after dinner. She had never done that before. In fact he hadn't ever expected her to do it. He wasn't sure how to respond. She was a beautiful woman he had known for at least a year and if it weren't for her apparent lack of interest in the boyfriend department he would ask her out on a proper date. Letting a sigh escape him he nodded his head. He could be rational; Jane didn't have any romantic feelings towards him and would never return his feelings—whatever they might be. _It's sad_, he thought as he unbuckled his seat belt. _She would make a good significant other for someone someday_.

Getting out of the car, Flint followed Jane up to her apartment. He noticed she was smiling slightly until she saw a small white object near her door. There was a soft but loud mew from the object and Jane ran towards it. Picking it up, Jane rubbed her nose in the kitten's fur. When Flint saw her glance at the door he saw her eyes widen with fear, anger, and shock. She let out a muffled and strangled sound. Slowly walking to her side he noticed through the open door that the furniture was over turned, papers scattered all over the floor, dishes were smashed and the picture frame that held the only picture she owned was broken. "I'll call the police, check if anything is missing but don't touch anything." Flint ordered while pulling out his cell phone.

Jane held the white fluffy in her left arm as she walked in. avoiding the sharp glass she looked around. Her eyes fell on the computer desk. The tower was missing. Not that it would do the person any good. Her tower only had computer games on it. Nothing else seemed to be missing but she had to be sure. Going over to her room she stepped inside and pushed in the false panel of her bedframe. As her eyes scanned the hiding hole she let out a relieved sigh. Her lap top and portable hard drive were safe.

"I should call my sister, stay with her for the night." Jane rubbed her nose against the mewling kitten's head again.

"My place is closer plus my couch is really comfortable." Flint couldn't believe that he had blurted the offer out to her. He carefully watched as she looked between the kitten and him. "The fuzzy can stay too if that's what you're worried about."

Jane smiled. "Thank you, if it's not too much of a hassle."

"You, a hassle? Only when you've had a few too many and a drunkard flirts with you."

Jane fought the blush forming at the memory of the previous month's bar fight. "Sorry about that."

Flint shrugged. "I've seen worse; besides the guy deserved it for grabbing your butt after you turned him down."

…

On the roof of the building across the way a man stood watching the scene in the apartment. It had been easy to take the tower and then plant video recorders all over the former pop-star's apartment. Now all the man had to do was report to his superiors.

"Is it done?" his commander hissed.

"Yes, I have her hard drive and now she's under my surveillance." He responded. "When shall I hand the hard drive over to you?"

"When I require you to do so."

"Yes, Commander."

* * *

A/N: As I said up above, I'm still getting over the cold but I'm better than I usually am at this stage. Please review.


	6. Slipping Through My Fingers

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _Slipping Through My Fingers _from Mama Mia/ABBA

Side Note: Back to Sarah and Sakura.

* * *

Chapter Six  
_Slipping Through My Fingers_

Sarah stood outside her front door waiting for Sakura to get off the bus from school. She had placed two palm sized cherry blossoms on the door and wanted to get Sakura to start packing as soon as she got back from first grade. The thought of her daughter being ahead of other kids her age reminded Sarah of herself. It also worried her, if the other kids started to tease the little girl at school there was nothing Sarah could do until Sakura got home. Glancing at her watch, Sarah noticed that the bus was a little late. Not really something she should worry about, yet she was. With what happened to Jane Sarah had a feeling that the people they were hunting down were coming for her now. That's practically the only reason she was agreeing to work at her uncle's secret base for his secret organization. Sakura needed someplace safe and home wasn't safe anymore.

As the bus rounded the corner towards their little neighborhood Sarah started to hold her breath. She wasn't aware that she was holding her breath. As the kids filled off she imagined seeing her little blonde daughter bounding towards her. But it didn't happen. Her daughter was not running up the driveway, she was not jumping into Sarah's arms asking a million questions and telling her about her day at school. In a panic Sarah pulled out her cell phone and dialed her sister.

"_Hello_?" Her sister asked, sounding slightly tired. Perhaps it had been a bad idea calling Jane, after all her sister was still cleaning up the mess that the thief had caused and packing up to move onto the base as well.

"Sakura's bus was late and she wasn't on it." Sarah exclaimed while running a hand through her black hair.

"_Calm down Sarah, relax. This has happened before. She is either walking home from a different stop a few doors down or the driver took her back to the school offices. Just wait for a few minutes then call the school._"

Sarah turned around then leaned her forehead against the closed door. "But what about what happened to you last night?"

"_I'm sure no one has kidnapped Sakura, they would never dream of it because I'm related to her_." Jane gave a cold chuckle. "_Anyone who hurts my family has a Demon to answer to and you know that_."

Jane was trying to ease Sarah's mind, but it really wasn't working that well.

Sarah bit her bottom lip. "Ok, I'll let you go then. I'll call the cops and—

"_No, don't call the cops. I'll have some of our people start looking for her. I'll even alert General Abernathy about the situation_."

"Thanks."

"_Call me if anything changes_."

"Ok, bye." Sarah hung up then choked. She was a horrible mother. At least that's what she felt like. She should have been picking her little one up from school every day, not relying on a bus. She should have told Sakura about her father. More importantly she should have told Sakura's father. Turning around Sarah slowly slid to the ground. Her back pressed against the door.

…

Sakura walked the crowded streets of New York City. She was lost. Looking around, the four year old saw a woman walking towards her. She was tall—then again everyone was tall to her. This woman had long red hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a military uniform much like her aunt Jane had. Stopping dead in her tracks, Sakura looked around for a quick exit. People were walking around her but continued to ignore the fact that she was a four year old without a parent nearby.

"Hey there," the woman said with a gentle voice. As the woman knelt down to get a better look at Sakura, the little girl started glancing around. Her mommy had told her never to talk to strangers and this woman was a stranger. "What are you doing all by yourself? Are you lost? Where is your mommy?"

Sakura clenched her jaw and locked narrowed eyes with the strange woman in front of her. "Mommy said never to talk to strangers." With that said, Sakura side stepped and started to walk around the woman.

"Your mommy must be a smart woman." A blonde haired man said while walking up behind the redhead.

Sakura didn't know whether to be offended or scared. "Of course mommy is smart; she's a genius for the military. And my aunt is one of the military's top dogs." Sakura said with her head held high. She continued to walk.

"We should take you to your mommy then. She must be really worried about you."

"I can get home on my own. Thank you." Continuing to walk, Sakura glanced at the shop windows. She knew from the games she and her mother played that she could use the windows as mirrors. The two strangers were following not too far behind her. Breaking into a mad run, Sakura looked for a place to hide. She was small, she was fast, and she was good at hiding. When she glanced over her shoulder she noticed that they were too far behind to notice if she made a quick turn. As she neared an alleyway she made a sharp turn then hid behind the large dumpster. Crawling under the garbage bags she closed her eyes. It smelled horrible but she knew that it was the safest place to hide.

Loud and fast footsteps neared the alleyway. "She went this way Duke!" The woman called to her partner. The running grew quieter then vanished.

Pushing the garbage bags off of herself, Sakura took a deep breath in she had been holding. Closing her eyes Sakura felt the tears falling from her eyes. She was lost, she was alone, and for the first time she was afraid.

Time seemed to have passed and Sakura woke up slowly to the sounds of people fighting. Sakura kept her eyes closed. She was praying they hadn't seen her. There were more shouts then grunts of pain.

"Hey, hey if you want the brat you can have her." The third man shouted before grunting in pain.

Opening one eye Sakura looked around to see a man dressed from head to toe in black standing over three unconscious bodies. As the man turned to her, Sakura drew her knees against her chest and whimpered. Slowly the man walked towards her and knelt down. As he moved his hand she closed her eyes. When nothing happened she slowly opened them to see he was holding out a small cherry blossom hair pin. Her eyes widened as she slowly reached up to touch where her hairpin should have been. It was gone. Looking the stranger up and down, she blinked. "You're the man from last night, mommy's friend."

The man nodded his head and brought out a piece of paper. As he handed it to her he tilted his head to one side.

Sakura stared at the handwriting. At first it was hard for her to read, she had just woken up after all. "Snake Eyes…is that your name?" Sakura asked as she looked up and locked her eyes onto the visor.

He nodded his head then gently placed the hair pin back in her bun. Slowly he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She held onto his hand and put her free hand in her Hello Kitty™ messenger bag.

…

Sarah stared blankly at the empty drive way. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Closing her eyes, she brought her hands to her face and knees to her chest. Jane had instructed her not to call the cops. Told Sarah that she was going to call their uncle and then start a search for the little 4 year old with the help of everyone she worked with. Some of the neighbors knew that Sakura was missing and promised to keep an eye out for her. Sarah could hear the sound of a motorcycle engine coming towards her house but she didn't bother to look up. She didn't know anyone who rode a motorcycle so it wasn't much use for her to look up. When the motorcycle pulled to a stop on the street Sarah thought about looking up then let out a whimper.

"Mommy!" she heard her daughter squeal before launching onto Sarah.

Sarah had barely any time to react when she heard her daughter squeal. Sarah opened her arms and pulled her daughter tight against her. She ignored the horrible stench that covered her daughter as she buried her face into her daughter's neck. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she held her daughter against her. When she heard a pair of footsteps walk towards them she looked up and gave Snake Eyes a smile. "_Thank you_." She mouthed while gently pulling her daughter away from her. "Did you get on the wrong bus again Sakura?"

"I…I didn't mean to." Sakura whimpered.

"It's ok sweetie," Sarah said while rubbing her daughter's arms. "You don't ever have to worry about getting on the wrong bus again."

"You're going to pick me up after school now?"

Sarah chuckled. "Sort of…I accepted a job."

Sakura smiled then glanced back at Snake Eyes. "Is that why you came after me?"

Snake Eyes shook his head then started moving his hands.

Sakura looked at her mom then back at Snake Eyes. "Huh?"

"He said it's because you're my daughter. Snake Eyes and I have been friends for a long time and he likes to protect you." Sarah explained while getting to her feet. "Now, I want you to go inside and get a shower…you smell like the garbage."

Sakura gave her mother a sheepish smile then ran inside.

Sarah looked at Snake Eyes. She was unable to read his body language but she knew hers spoke volumes. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, I was so worried."

'_I was following her after school anyways_.' Snake Eyes signed. '_I was impressed when she decided to run from Duke and Scarlett_.'

Sarah winced then nodded her head. "Yeah…Sakura takes my words to heart a little much."

'_She hid in the garbage_…'

Sarah bit her bottom lip. She hadn't expected her daughter to do something like that. Sakura despised being dirty let alone smelly things. A thought struck her. She could explain so much to both Sakura and Snake Eyes—kill two birds with one stone. "Uh…would you like to um…help us pack? I'm going to be ordering take-out for dinner."

Snake Eyes tilted his head to the side. She must have realized he had quite a few questions for her. He motioned for her to lead the way into the house. As he walked past the door he gently plucked the origami cherry blossoms off it. One was exactly the way he had shown her and the other was more elaborate with green leaves attached. Two people had made them.

* * *

A/N: I'm alive! Hahahaha, I finally beat that evil villain called the COLD! Took several weeks...but I'm back...sorta. I'm spliting my writing time between this and a newer version of my old Avengers' Fanfic. It will be called We are Only Human...for those of you who are also into the Avengers movie 'verse. Any ways, please review!


	7. I'm Alive

Citizen Soldier

Synopsis: After growing up the members of a band known as "Demons Run" joined the military. They were all assigned to the same covert special ops unit. However, as each member was taken away during the missions, the team leader Captain Jane Abernathy started putting things together. Now it's up to Jane and Sarah to join the new military special ops program and rescue the old team members of "Demons Run".

Disclaimer: I do not own G. I. Joe: Renegades. I only own the characters of Jane Abernathy, Sarah Abernathy, Sakura Abernathy, Jana Ling, Jake Henderson, and Roy Stevenson. I also do not own the song _Citizen Soldier_ that is from Three Doors Down or the song _I'm Alive _from Shinedown

Side Note: It's time to visit Jana. I used Google Translator for the Chinese and Japanese dialog.

* * *

Chapter Seven  
_I'm Alive_

Specialist Jana Ling lay inside her holding cell. The white washed walls were blinding when the lights were on but an odd comfort to her when they were off-which was most of the time. Her fingers ran over the filthy torn clothing that she had been wearing since her capture. She didn't really know how long it had been but it must have been quite a while. She reeked.

Reminding herself why she was there was the only silver lining she had left in her life. She had spent many weeks with Jane hacking into Cobra Industries, many weeks of playing the espionage game. It was about time that they had been caught. What they hadn't expected was that the one to catch them was an Arashikage ninja. Jana had sent Jane away to protect her best friend and commanding officer. If either of them could survive the Arashikage ninja it was Jana. She thought Jane was needed at HQ more than she was. _I just hope she got away from these people in time. If she hasn't…then I'm as good as dead_. Jana thought sadly while starting to sit up. Her body ached as she started to swing her stiff legs over the ledge of the cot. She hadn't been allowed out of this cell in what seemed like forever so she resigned herself to lying on the cot or meditating on it. Rising to her feet she felt like every bone in her body was complaining. Tilting her head from side to side she felt her neck finally pop.

When she heard the door start to unlock, Jana jumped back so that she was standing on the cot. Bringing her arms up in a defensive posture she waited for the person to walk in. She felt her back throb from the wounds she had received when her captors were tortured her. She made up her mind that her injuries were not going to faze her if she could make some kind of escape. The door opened slowly and she found her eyes throbbing almost as much as her back. The light was almost blinding but she could see a figure standing in the doorway. Bending her knees slightly she waited to see if the person would go to grab her or not.

"Come," the man said. His oriental accent sounding more Japanese than any other accent she knew of—which was quite a lot.

"Over my dead body," Jana bit out while narrowing her eyes. Given time they could adjust to the change in lighting but she didn't have the time to adjust. She needed to get out of this place.

"How about over your unconscious body?" He asked. He sounded like he was smirking.

Jana could hear the sound of metal being pulled away from cloth. She knew that the man was going to kill her now. But she was going to put up one hell of a fight.

"It's a shame the Commander wants you dead. You're one of the best opponents I've had…even for a woman."

Anger boiling under her skin, she took a deep breath. Anger would not solve anything. She reminded herself. "What's that supposed to mean?" she bit out despite her best effort to control her anger. _How dare this man, this Arashikage scum, insult me_! Her mind screamed out in anger. _No, don't let the anger control you_. She countered her own mind while stepping off the cot.

"Did I strike a nerve perchance?" He mused, mostly to himself it seemed.

"You're Arashikage correct?" she asked while her eyes finally stopped throbbing. "I happened to see the mark on your arm." Opening them fully she noticed that the man had gone slightly rigid. No_w it seems I have struck the nerve_. She inwardly mused. "I'm surprised, I thought the Arashikage had enough honor not to work for monsters like Cobra."

"Shut up woman."

"They've experimented on innocent people. My sisters, my niece and so many others. Don't the Arashikage—

Jana barely reacted in time to catch the flying object between her hands. Seeing the tip of the blade mere centimeters from her eyes, she glanced at the man. "Yǒushēngyǒusè." (_Impressive_)

"I'm surprised." He said while walking towards her.

Jana opened her hands, placing the blade in her right hand. Glancing at her left she noticed a small bleeding cut. Blinking she could feel her limbs grow heavier. Staggering slightly she put a hand against the nearby wall. Why was she suddenly so tired? It didn't make sense. Unless the knife had been poisoned.

"You must feel it by now." He whispered as he took hold of her right hand. Jana tried to yank herself way only to fall flat on her side. At first she thought the ninja had thrown her but as she made eye contact she noticed he was staring at her in shock. Or at least the shock was there until he narrowed his cold eyes at her.

"What the hell did you do to me?"

"It's a poison used to make you look dead. I will take you away from this cell after its effects have taken hold and claim to be disposing of your body. Afterwards you will wake up and you are going to be safe."

Jana scoffed before trying to throw a weak punch. Her arm jerked then fell limp to her side. The world was growing dark again. Panic ripped through her mind as she felt him gently lift her body. _Safe my ass_. Was the last thought she had as her body and mind succumbed to the deep slumber induced by poison.

…

Storm Shadow carefully lifted his prisoner's unconscious body out of the side car to his motorcycle and carried her into the motel room he had just rented. He was tempted to lay her on the floor when he saw there was only one bed. Gently placing her on the bed, he moved to sit in the lonely arm chair. He knew who she was, beyond her military title. She was the last of the Ling Family. They were well known fighting masters and always sought after for their knowledge. He had known before him was the only surviving member of that family left alive. Saving her life meant she was indebted to him. His reward he would demand to be taught the Sebun kakushi burēdo (_Seven Hidden Blades_) technique. Looking around the room, Storm Shadow tried to think about a change of clothing for her. The tattered rags she was wearing were not going to last her for much longer.

…

Commander Cobra walked up behind Dr. Mindbender. Everything was falling into place. "Did you get enough of a DNA sample from our young prisoner?"

Mindbender jumped slightly. He had not been expecting a visit from the Commander. Moreover he was far too busy working with the DNA samples to even notice anyone walking in. "Yes I did, I have even got a mitochondrial match to To—

"Perfect, get to work then."

"Splicing together four sets of female DNA leaves little room for a father DNA sample."

"You won't need one. Get to work."

* * *

A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews! Wish me luck however, this week starting Tuesday night is finals week. I have finals Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. I will be uploading chapter 8 as soon as I start typing up chapters 9-12. Next term should be less chaotic though, all computer courses (save for a Business 101). Math and Reading were a pain this term, hence the sporadic updates (that and killer colds). Continue reviewing please!


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